American Speech

[Brovion]

Does it piss you off that they have to convert the English language and change it how they please?

It really gets on my tits, as if they cannot speak properly.

Here is an example of American commentry in the World Cup. They use 'One to nothing' instead of 'One nil'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KkIQOS-D2I

Firstly to survive a language must evolve, and the Americans are English users and are just as entitled to add new words or alter meanings as we are. Secondly as Des Irate says above a lot of the time the Americans 'talk better than what we do'. They've preserved several old English words such as 'Fall' for Autumn and 'gotten' as part of the past tense of the verg 'to get'. They also preserved the long 'rrrr' sound in words such as 'beer' and 'fear' which largely disappeared in England in the 18th century when the Dandies thought it refined to clip their speech.

However you're not alone in your futile rage. In the 19th century people moaned at Charles Dickens (who'd travelled extensively in the USA) for peppering his conversation with dreadful Americanisms such as 'lengthy' and 'influential'. And in 1917, much to the chagrin of the British high command in France, British troops learnt a whole new load of really cool terms of abuse from the newly-arrived American soldiers who were apt to refer to the Germans as "those motherf**king c**ksuckers!"

 

[Publius Ovidius]

To the citizens of the United States of America,

FIXTURES

 

[bhaexpress]

If you talk to americans every day ( which we sometimes do) they will insist that they actually talk the "better " english as it was the derivative of the Pilgrim Fathers English which at the time was regarded as pure.

Well, maybe the Americans you've met but I've met a few too. As it is those who actually understand our accents are fascinated by it. We have to explain certain expressions and they have no real transaltion for the expression 'Wanker'.

Still, all in all not worth upsetting yourself about. Even today, I am in Glasgow and got talking to an American woman who said she was well travelled yet she still thought I was Australian !

 

[Curious Orange]

We have to explain certain expressions and they have no real transaltion for the expression 'Wanker'.

Always hilarious when used by Spike in Buffy the Vampire Slayer / Angel. Joss Whedon slipped that one past the censors quite nicely!!

 

[Trufflehound]

...they have no real translation for the expression 'Wanker'.

What about "Cockjuggling Thundercunt"?

 

[Commander]

Your only acting like this because your behind a keyboard.

oooh handbags

 

[chip]

The English language contained around 25,000 words until the arrival of the Norman conquest upon which within a very short time around another 50,000 words were added to the language pool.

Don't forget that it wasn't until John Wyclif and the lollards that the "English" language was actually common accross England. That is part of the reason for the large number of latin words but also the convergence of all of the regional variations. The publication of the Bible in English in the late 1300s is probably the real birth of the language as a homogenous entity and it has not stopped evolving ever since.

 

[RexCathedra]

...they have no real translation for the expression 'Wanker'.

So we stole it outright and gave it a job over here.

 

[looney]

Re: Re: American Speech

Firstly to survive a language must evolve,

Not necassarily, old langauges survive. Agree with the rest of your post.

 

[NMH]

We as a country have adopted far more Americanisms than vice versa. We are to blame, as a nation.

Ps Besides, if you could speak English properly, you would have a point. Sorry

Er....shouldn't it be pointed out, that we gave them the whole friggin language to 'adopt'? Everything they say is an Englishism.

 

[NMH]

We have to explain certain expressions and they have no real transaltion for the expression 'Wanker'.

Don't be a jerk-off